Calgary-area motorsports park could be part of $200M development

Rolling out a new Calgary-area motorsports park will be the first step in what could ultimately lead to a massive development with a pricetag in excess of $200 million, officials said Monday.

Metro first reported last week that a plot northeast of Airdrie is being eyed to develop a replacement facility for Calgary’s now-closed Race City Motorsports Park.

Speaking publicly about the proposal for the first time Monday, Rockyview Motorsports Corporation President Dominic Young refused to specify the exact location of the park, but sources have indicated it will be 5-10 kilometres east of Airdrie and just north of Highway 567.

“The site has been assessed by experts . . . it’s an ideal location to build an exciting and challenging road course,” Young said.

The initial motorsports park development will cost $30 million; however, Rocky View development rules will require that $37.5 million is secured. Much of the money will come through support from the Calgary racing community, with members buying a founding stake in the park, Young said, but he refused to specify how much had been put into the project to date.

Ryan Ockey with the Motorsports, Arts Culture and Sports Group, which was tasked with finding a new motorsports park in the Calgary area, said the proposed facility will focus more on users and less on spectators. He believes demand for the facility exists.

“Race City was booked all the time and it was a crappy track, let’s face it, it wasn’t at the beginning but it had deteriorated over the past 10 years,” he said.